That tingle means something
by RippersFaith
Summary: A tingle in the spine and warmth in the belly are sure signs of... something. FaithGiles


This story takes place some undetermined timepost-Chosen and after Angel: The Series ends as well.Rated for references to cutting and non-graphic sexual situation.

Please R&R :)

She spent a lot of time alone. Certainly other people – mostly Slayers labeled 'troubled' and the other people who worked with them – surrounded her most of the time. Every once in a while Angel showed up, stayed for a while and eased her loneliness as best he could. Giles, too, would come but their relationship, as it was, remained just a little too strained to be warm though they managed to work well together.

But it was never enough.

When Giles showed up unannounced one night, she was happy to abandon her session with one of the girls to give him the tour. The building had changed since his last visit. Something was different about him. He watched her more than he looked at the improvements around the building, and she was sure that tingling in the base of her spine and the warmth in her belly were recognizable signs of… something.

Desire?

She had assuredly wanted him at one point in time, but she thought she was over that. Had she become so lonely she let herself have false hopes that he was attracted to her?

Pathetic.

Besides… the tingling and the warmth weren't Desire. She could feel Desire coursing through her, heating her blood.

Blood… She shivered. Interesting.

He smiled slightly and asked her what had made her shiver.

"Blood." She tested the word with her voice and found herself shivering again. The word made the tingle in her spine spread up her back to her neck.

He quirked an eyebrow. "Do you still cut yourself when you think no one is looking, Faith?"

She looked at him sharply, stunned that he knew at all let alone spoke of it. "No." She replied immediately.

He knew she was lying and called her bluff. He could smell the blood on her. "Does Robin even notice? When his hands cover your breasts, does he see the angry trails of your razor blade? Does he question the lines on your thighs? Or does he fuck you in the dark and not see a damn thing and is too stupid to know your skin should be smoother than what he feels?" He watched her take a shuddering breath and gape at him in shock. He did not enjoy making her suffer this way but she had to see. "Has he surprised you, Faith? Has he shown you not all men are like the ones you knew before? Has he -"

She cut him off. "He left!" Faith barked angrily, wondering why Giles was doing this. "We fought because he was screwing someone else. He hit me, I hit back and kicked him out!" Why was he reminding her how she could make even the best go bad?

"I'm sorry." He said softly. He wasn't really. If she were alone it would make everything he had planned for her just a little bit easier.

She shrugged, trying to be macho. "You didn't do anything." She murmured, eyeing him warily because that shiver (what did it mean again?) wouldn't go away.

"Indeed. That's rather what I'm sorry about." He clasped his hands behind his back. "There are things we need to discuss. Can we go some place more private?"

Faith nodded and led the way to her bedroom. She wondered if she was being fired and that's why Giles was being so odd. She watched him look around her room, noting the treasure trove of weapons (was that approval?), the overstuffed chair, the books, the plush carpet, the unmade bed, the punching bag… This was her haven away from prying eyes and endless question. "I spend a lot of time here." She mumbled, embarrassed.

He waved a hand dismissively. "It's a wonderful room. More suited to you than the Spartan nonsense of that motel room back in Sunnydale. But your decorating style wasn't what I wished to speak with you about." He sat on the bed, watching her watching him. "Come sit with me." He requested softly, grinning a little as she obeyed without hesitation. She tried so hard to be a good girl. "I think about you a lot, Faith." He told her, taking her hand in his. "I had too many chances to save you, but every time I turned my back on you. But… if you want to… I can save you now."

"But Giles… I don't need to be saved." Faith whispered, staring at their entwined hands.

He managed to refrain from laughing out loud. Barely. "I'm not stupid, Faith. Not anymore at least. I see the way you look at Angel." He paused, caressing her cheek and making her meet his gaze. "I see the way you look at me." He added, brushing his thumb over her lips. "You need saving now every bit as much as you did then."

To say she was shocked when his mouth met hers would have been a terrible understatement. The shock was quickly replaced by heat however, and she kissed him back with fierce desperation.

Lips, tongues, teeth, hands, skin, need.

When he pushed himself inside her, she prayed he would not abandon her come morning.

Lips, tongues, hands, skin, need…

Teeth.

Her eyes closed in passion and his face distorted. Yellow eyes closed in ecstasy as razor sharp fangs slid into her throat.

Pain, zinging… blackness.

He guarded her while she slept; shielding her from the harsh light of day, keeping curious visitors curious and away. He would save her, teach her, as he should have long before.

"Hungry."

He smiled, turning to admire his childe. He offered her his wrist. "Just a taste, love. Just a little to ease the hunger till we find you proper prey." She would be strong as she had always so desperately yearned to be.

She pierced the flesh of his wrist with her new fangs; sharp as milk teeth and far more deadly. She took only a few mouthfuls before pulling away. He needed his strength to teach her… to keep up with her.

They both watched the wound close before he looked at her. "And what so of prey would you fancy, my darling? Something strong? Buffy, perhaps?"

"No."

He arched an eyebrow. "Angel? Willow?" His curiosity grew as both were turned down and she announced, with a gleam in her eyes, she wanted a stranger. "And why is that?"

"It wouldn't do to kill them so quickly. Not at all. I'll leave a trail of corpses and let them see what they've made!"

He laughed and it was music to her ears. After all, what sire wouldn't be proud of that?

She laughed too. She was at last saved.

She remembered now what the tingle in the base of her spine and the warmth in her belly signaled.

Vampire.


End file.
